Tilting bath



March 23, 1965 R. B. FIELDING TILTING BATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 31, 1962 March 23, 1965 R. B. FIELDING TILTING BATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 31, 1962 hm H E/f United States Patent 3,174,160 TILTING BATH Rudolph Burton Fielding, Okehurst, Billingshurst, Sussex, England Filed Aug. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 220,611 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Sept. 4, 1961, 31,764; Feb. 2, 1962, 4,172 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-176) This invention relates to baths.

Difiiculty is frequently found by people disabled by age or infirmity in entering and leaving baths of conventional form. This invention has for an object to provide a bath more easily used by such people.

The invention provides a bath mounted for pivotal movement between a substantially vertical position in which a user may easily enter the bath to stand therein and a horizontal position in which the bath may be used for bathing and means for effecting pivotal movement of the bath between the two positions.

In one form of the invention the bath is carried on a rigid frame which is pivoted to a fixed frame and, to effect movement of the bath between its two positions aforesaid, there is at least one hydraulic ram acting between the two frames.

The foot end of the bath, which will be the lower end when the bath is in its vertical position, may have a water container open to the interior of the bath and adapted to receive water from the bath as the bath is moved to the vertical position. The water container may extend above the depth of the bath to form a step aiding entry into the vertical bath. Preferably said step has a slipresistant surface. The opening in the container may be covered or formed by a grid on which the user may stand when the bath is vertical.

A specific example of a bath according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying perspective drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view showing the bath in its lowered position,

FIGURE 2 shows the bath in its upright position,

FIGURE 3 is a view, in the direction A in FIGURE 1, of the container, removed from the bath, and

FIGURE 4 is a section, on the line BB in FIGURE 3, of the container and foot end of the bath.

The body of the bath is of conventional form and made of plastic or resin-bonded glass fibres or other suitable material. It is supported by a wooden or angle iron frame 11, which, in the final assembly, may be covered with sheet material. The frame 11 is bolted to an upper rectangular sub-frame 12 of angle iron, which, in turn, is pivoted at 14 to a lower sub-frame 15 also of angle iron.

Gusset plates 16 are bolted to each side of the upper sub-frame and at each side there is a double-acting hydraulic ram 17 acting between the two sub-frames to tilt the upper frame and the bath carried thereby between the two extreme positions shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

A pump 18 driven by a hp. electric motor which will be situated outside the bathroom 19 provides pressure fluid for operating the rams, the pump having an output of 40 cu. inches of fluid per minute at 700 lbs. per square inch and incorporating a pressure relief by-pass valve operating at 1000 lbs. per square inch. The pump output and return lines are taken, by flexible pipes Where necessary, to a control valve 20 and thence to the rams. The valve has a control handle 21, accessible to the user of the bath, by which the rams may be caused to raise or lower the bath or to hold it in an intermediate position.

Fixed to the foot end of the bath and supported by frame members 22, there is a container 23. The container has a downward extension 24 which is open through the end wall of the bath, the opening 25 being of substantial size. The container has a perforated grid 26 covered with antislip material and is of size to hold enough water to fill the bath to a depth of several inches. The container is constructed separately from the bath and is secured to the bath by studs 28 fixed to a perforated cover plate or grid 29 and passing through bolt holes in the end of the bath and in the wall of the container. The fixing is completed by nuts 30. A sealing gasket 31 is provided between the bath and the container.

For the purpose of filling the bath hot and cold water taps 32, 33 are fixed on the wall of the room above the bath and have outlet pipes 34, 35 which project into holes 36, 37 in the container when the bath is horizontal. The taps and outlets may be of the mixing type and only one pipe to the container provided. In an alternative arrange ment the taps are fixed to the bath and have flexible supply pipes. To drain the bath there is an outlet 40 with a flexible drain pipe 41 leading into a fixed drain 42.

Handles 44 are fixed to the sides of the bath.

In use the bath is filled with warm or hot water to a depth of, say, four inches. In this way the bath is itself warmed and a supply of water at a suitable temperature provided. The valve is then operated to cause the rams to raise the bath to the upright position, the water running into the container. The user then steps onto the grid 26 on top of the container. The valve is next operated to cause the bath to return to the horizontal position, carrying the user with it. The water in the container flows back into the bath during this movement and the user may then add more, if desired. After having bathed, the user drains the water from the bath to a depth of four inches-if extra water has been addedor the bath may be drained completely. The valve is then operated to cause the bath to return to the upright position so that the user may step out of the bath.

The bath may be marked to indicate the level to which it may be filled Without over-filling of the container when the bath is raised to the vertical.

If desired, the bath unit may be mounted on wheels for mobility, e.g. for hospital use. It can then be coupled to a water supply and waste outlet by flexible pipes or the container may be made large enough to hold all the water needed. A hand pump for filling and emptying may be provided.

Various alternative mechanisms for raising and lowering the bath may be used. The hydraulic rams may be replaced by a winch which can be manually operated or driven by a hydraulic or electric motor. The winch may operate in conjunction with a cord or chain attached to the head end of the bath and either passing around a pulley on an overhead structure or the winch itself may be on such a structure.

A further construction has the motor at floor level with a gear drive to a convex quadrant fixed to the bath. The motor may be electric but, for reasons of safety, is preferably hydraulic, the pressure fluid being derived from the water mains or from a pump driven by an electric motor outside the bathroom. The gear could be manually operated.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing example. For instance the grid 26 over the top of the container may, if desired, be extended into the bath and it may cover the opening 25 between the bath and the container. Also the capacity and other details of the pump and motor may be varied according to circumstances.

As an alternative to the provision of a container which extends beyond the end of the bath, there may be a cap above the foot end of the bath. The cap is closed on all sides but open downwardly towards the bath, whereby the container is formed by the cap and the foot-end portion of the bath itself. The cap is bolted or welded above the foot-end of the bath, suitable sealing means being provided. A foot grid may extend between the container and the bottom of the bath to form a substantially vertical surface, flush with the container, when the bath is in the horizontal position.

I claim:

The combination of a rigid support frame, a bath which is pivotally attached to the frame for pivotal movement between a horizontal position and an upright position, the combination permitting ready access for a user to walk into and stand upright substantially within the bath when it is in the upright position, a water container below the foot end of the bath, which is the lower end when the bath is upright and provides a platform on which the user may stand, the said container being movable with the bath, being open to the interior of the bath through the end wall thereof and being operable to hold sufiicient water to fill the bath to a substantial depth when in the horizontal position and said bath being open for the user to be at least partly immersed in the water when in the horizontal position, and at least one hydraulic ram connected between the bath and the frame and by which the bath may be raised to the upright position and a control valve for the ram attached to the bath for movement therewith, and accessible to a user Within the bath in either position thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 760,540 5/04 Lancaster 4-176 931,539 8/09 Williams et a1. 4-112 1,480,145 1/24 Berven 4169 1,943,888 1/34 Ewald 4-176 2,462,627 2/49 Garrett 4-l85 2,536,540 1/51 Davis 4176 EDWARD V. BENHAM, Primary Examiner. FRANK E. BAILEY, Examiner. 

